I’m standing on the 14th tee - a par-3 that measures a whopping 270 yards - on the new Links Course at Wolf Creek. A 30 km/h wind is whipping out of the west and, to be honest, the only club that (maybe) gives me enough firepower to get to the green is my driver.

I select the weapon, steady myself over the ball, and make a passionate swipe at it. I make solid contact, but the ball gets up in the wind and comes up 50 yards short. I can’t believe it. But this is links golf - in Alberta. And anything can happen.

When golf first began on the sandy, wind-blasted shores of Scotland, it was an adventurous, against-the-elements form of recreation. The bells and whistles of today’s high-end clubs and resorts were non-existent. It was you versus nature - and perhaps a few sheep.

Indeed, the timeless Scottish saying "nae wind, nae rain, nae golf" sums it up rather succinctly. Interestingly, in Alberta, a place far removed from the "authentic" Scottish game, there are a number of places where the timeless qualities of links golf can be experienced.

Wolf Creek, near the town of Ponoka, is, by many accounts, the best example in Alberta of this brash and brawny version of the game. Designed by talented Alberta architect Rod Whitman - a true visionary of the "timeless" game and one of the best golf course architects working anywhere on the planet today - Wolf Creek speaks volumes to the compelling nature of the Old World game.

Interestingly, if you look at some of the most successful stories in golf during the past decade or so, it’s places similar to Wolf Creek - Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast is perhaps the best example - that have created the most noise. These are places - Chambers Bay in Washington, Sand Hills in Nebraska and Sutton Bay in South Dakota are other examples - where the golf has not been married to standard North American residential and resort models. The game at these places is much more natural and adventurous, aligned with the "out there" fibres that gave golf life in the first place.

"I’ve always been grassroots when it comes to golf," explains Whitman. "To me there is nothing better than walking, carrying your clubs, and enjoying a challenging golf course that melds into the natural landscape. To me, the weather, the wind, that’s all part of it. At Wolf Creek, and certainly Cabot Links, that’s how the game is meant to be played."

While Whitman’s Wolf Creek has been turning heads for more than 25 years now, his Cabot Links project, which will be Canada’s first true links, is also destined for stardom. Located hard on the sandy Atlantic shores in Inverness, N.S., Cabot Links will open on 10 holes later this summer and a full 18 next year. And, trust me, you’ll hear more about this course in the months to come.

However, while Cabot Links will offer a hardcore links experience, there are a number of other places in the Canadian West, besides Wolf Creek, where flavours from the ancient seaside game can be experienced. Courses such as Speargrass, the Links at Delacour, and Desert Blume (Medicine Hat) all boast elements of links golf. And, certainly, depending on the strength of your imagination, there are many others.

Interestingly, if you go further east into Saskatchewan - where the sweeping, grass-covered landscapes of the plains often bear a striking resemblance to links land - there are even better examples. Dakota Dunes (Saskatoon), Mainprize (Weyburn), and Sask Landing (on Lake Diefenbaker) immediately come to mind.

And, personally, I’ve always felt that The Links of North Dakota (just over the U.S. border near Wiliston) is one of the best inland links in the world. It’s a spectacular golf experience. No doubt, if you’re a purist, you’ve probably got your own prairie favourite that whisks you away to the romantic dunescapes across the pond.

Of course, like many Albertans, my favourite when it comes to local inland links is the one and only Wolf Creek. The shaping on both courses (the new back nine on the Links Course will knock your socks off) is absolutely stunning. Throw in the sod-walled pot bunkers, the huge sand blowouts, the golden fescue waving in the wind -and the fact that, on certain days, par-3 holes may require everything you’ve got with a driver -and we can safely say that the heart and soul of the game is palpable here. And, get in on a "good" day when the wind is howling and the rain is coming down sideways, and you’ve got a links golf experience for the ages. In Alberta, of all places.

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